HighTide Festival Theatre makes waves at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival

HighTide Festival Theatre, partner of the Genesis Foundation, has recently garnered excellent reviews for performances of its two newest plays – Dusk Rings a Bell and Midnight Your Time – at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival. Founded in 2007, HighTide was created to discover, produce and champion emerging theatrical talent. In March 2010, the Genesis Laboratory, HighTide Festival Theatre's Research and Development Studio for emerging theatre practitioners, opened at a studio underneath the Waterloo Brasserie. A one year grant from the Genesis Foundation enabled HighTide to award 26 bursaries to emerging playwrights, directors, and ensembles to develop their craft for a week in HighTide's Studio with the support of HighTide's Artistic Director Steven Atkinson.

The two plays mentioned in this article - both developed in the Genesis Laboratory - were first performed in April at the Halesworth Theatre, Essex, to great acclaim, and were brought to Edinburgh to reach a wider audience. Dusk Rings a Bell, by American dramatist Stephen Belber, deals with the themes of disillusionment, regret, and hope, taking a look at life’s twists and turns in the form of a dialogue between two characters pondering what they have become.  The Herald gave it four stars, calling it an “exquisitely structured two-hander….particularly reverberant”, whilst critic Terri Paddock of What’s On Stage was impressed by the play’s “moments of pure poetic beauty”. Meanwhile actors Abi Titmuss and Paul Blair received praise from The Independent for their “strong, committed performances”. 

Midnight Your Time, by Adam Brace, deals with similar themes of disillusionment, this time focusing on a retired woman’s struggle to come to terms with the fact that she is no longer needed. Starring veteran actress Diana Quick, for whom the play was in fact written, the production was described as a “gem of a show….beautifully done” (What’s On Stage), and as an “eloquent…portrait” of despair (The Herald). 

Both plays run for a few more days (Midnight Your Time until 28 August, Dusk Rings a Bell until 29 August), so there is still time to catch them before the festival ends. For tickets, visit HighTide’s website.

To learn more about the Genesis Foundation's relationship with HighTide please click here.